'She didn't eat ... this gnawed at her mother.'
From watching the new trailer for A Banquet, I am seized with a sense of unease and uncertainty which, as it happens, are usually good indicators for something good on the way. We shared a clip from the film back in September, when it screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and now that it's heading for release next month, the trailer teases tantalizing thrills. Or something.
According to the official synopsis: "Widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power.
"Bound to her newfound faith, Betsey refuses to eat but loses no weight. In an agonizing dilemma, torn between love and fear, Holly is forced to confront the boundaries of her own beliefs."
So there are all sorts of possibilities to be explored. Scottish filmmaker Ruth Paxton directed. IFC Midnight will release in select theaters, on Digital Platforms and VOD on February 18. The trailer is worth a watch.